MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Dengue epidemic reported in Ecuador

An increase in circulation of dengue type 3 was deemed the cause for a recent surge in Brazil

Ecuador's Health Ministry confirmed Thursday that the South American country was going through a dengue epidemic. Surveillance, Prevention, and Epidemiological Control Undersecretary Teresa Aumala made the announcement during a virtual press conference after 2 deaths and over 4,500 cases were recorded.

 

Local authorities are also keeping an eye on the rest of the Americas, she also explained. “We are talking about a virus that can eventually cause an epidemic, which we are going through, and even a pandemic,” Aumala noted.

Last year, dengue cases in Ecuador soared to 61,329 from 27,838 the previous year, while deaths reached 76, including 28 minors. So far in 2025, the most affected provinces are Napo (899 cases), Orellana (626), Manabí (296), and Zamora (271). The first two deaths in 2025 were recorded in Napo, where type 2 dengue prevails, making it the variant present in 99.65% of cases nationwide.

According to Aumala, infections are concentrated in border provinces, suggesting a link to human mobility and migratory flows with neighboring countries. She also warned that dengue symptoms can take up to 14 days to appear.

São Paulo and Rio

Also Thursday, authorities in the Brazilian State of São Paulo admitted that cases rose from 82,000 to 99,000, with 28 deaths. Nationwide, the total number of probable cases was between 139,000 and 169,000 with deaths skyrocketing from 21 to 37 deaths in three days. In addition, there are 160 deaths under investigation, 138 of them in São Paulo.

An increase in circulation of dengue type 3, which has been expanding since July last year, is believed to be the cause for the recent surge. In 2024, Brazil recorded 6,629,595 probable cases and 6,103 deaths.
Vaccination

Last week, the Brazilian Society of Immunizations (SBIm) warned about the low demand for the dengue vaccine, which is available to a restricted group of people in 1,900 cities where the disease is more frequent. Only 3,205,625 out of the 6,370,966 available had been applied by Friday, Agencia Brazil reported citing health authorities data.

In this scenario, Rio de Janeiro City authorities extended the age range for dengue vaccination from 10/14 to 10/16 years, Health Secretary Daniel Soranz announced earlier this week. He also pointed out that the city has 100,000 doses in stock for people who failed to come back for the second injection.

“Dengue is always a concern in the summer, but this year we have much lower numbers than last year when we had an epidemic in the city of Rio and in Brazil. We are very concerned because the number is growing in São Paulo, which already has 58,000 cases, and there is type 3 dengue circulating, which could arrive in Rio at any time,” Soranz said.

The Qdenga vaccine manufactured by the Japanese laboratory Takeda Pharma has been approved by Brazil's National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa). It began to be distributed in the country in February 2024. Qdenga is administered in two doses 90 days apart.

SBIm President Mônica Levi regretted the “low demand” and insisted Qdenga was a safe and effective immunizer. “Any vaccine to be approved and licensed in the country goes through a series of approval criteria, and this Qdenga vaccine, from the Takeda laboratory, has been approved in Brazil, in Europe, in Argentina, in several Asian countries, in several countries around the world,” she told Agência Brasil.

“The second dose is mainly responsible for longer protection, of at least another four and a half years,” she also explained.